St. Louis Trust Co Takes $1.74 Million Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

St. Louis Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,843 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,744,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the first quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 786 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BLK traded down $1.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,104.21. 991,217 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 702,213. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,119.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,013.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $972.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.83%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.